A father was violently assaulted in front of his teen stepchild at the PNE Saturday night.

Bryan Busby, age 44, had travelled to the PNE from White Rock to attend Fright Nights with his girlfriend and 13-year-old step-daughter. The family had parked their vehicle at one of the PNE lots at about 7 p.m. on Saturday when Busby claimed he was jumped from behind and sucker-punched several times in the face.

He suffered a serious injury to his left eye and doctors are concerned he may have lost vision in that eye.

"Do we have to protect ourselves now when we go out, like carry mace with us, like... what's the right answer?” Busby asked. “I'm just shocked."

Busby’s girlfriend Stephanie Frost said she yelled at the alleged assaulter.

"I was screaming at him to get off like, ‘What are you doing, what are you doing? I was just in shock and I just wanted him to get away," Frost said.

Busby said he is traumatized by the incident and is unhappy with how slowly PNE security handled the alleged assault.

He said he does not know what triggered the alleged assault and warned others to be careful at Fright Nights.

A PNE spokesperson said this was a very isolated incident and staff reacted quickly. The incident has been turned over to Vancouver Police department. Busby said his was told a man in his 20s is facing charges.

On Monday Sgt. Randy Fincham confirmed the 23-year-old suspect was detained by Playland Security and arrested by police. Fincham could not confirm details of any charges.

With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Julie Nolin